Related

Article

Van Gaal: Formation gives United flexibility

29 July 2014 02:51

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said his 3-5-2 system opens up the ability for more of his better players to be included in his XI.

Van Gaal made the ideal start to his tenure in charge of United, leading them to a 7-0 friendly win over the Los Angeles Galaxy before a 3-2 triumph over Roma to kick-start their International Champions Cup campaign.

And ahead of their second match of the pre-season tournament against Inter in Maryland on Tuesday, Van Gaal said his formation was deployed to exploit the flexibility of his squad.

The likes of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and Juan Mata are all at Van Gaal's disposal, and caused the 62-year-old to deploy the formation.

"That's why I chose this system, I can play them all. But Hernandez can also play in the striker's position, so can Welbeck," the Dutch tactician said.

"Rooney can play at number 10 and number nine and he tells me he can also play at number 11 and number seven, but I prefer him at number nine or number 10.

"When you look at the quality of your players you see Rooney, Van Persie, Hernandez, Mata, Welbeck, [Marouane] Fellaini, [Ander] Herrera – a lot of players can play this system.

"So with this system, two strikers can play, the number 10 can play, two midfielders can play, so the specialists become the wing-backs."

Van Gaal also revealed his reasons for accepting the United job, after being the number one candidate following David Moyes' disastrous tenure at Old Trafford.

"It was not an instant 'yes' because I had other offers also. So I had to think about it," he said.

"But I chose 'yes' because of the big challenge. I have been at Ajax – the biggest club in the Netherlands – I went to Barcelona – the biggest club in Spain – and then I go to Bayern Munich, also the number one in Germany.